Nigerian President To Visit Chad, Niger On First Official Trip

President Buhari

… Condoles with Anambra, Joe Biden

Towards blocking the activities of Boko Haram from neighbouring countries, President Muhammadu Buhari will on Wednesday embark on two-day visit to Chad and Niger Republic.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja.

The Nation report continues:

The two-day visit, he said, will focus on “matters of security.”

Buhari, who was sworn in last Friday, had vowed to crush the sect, which he described as “mindless and godless” in his inaugural speech.

Boko Haram’s fatal attacks have continued in parts of northern Nigeria after Friday’s inauguration ceremony.

Chad leads a multinational force of troops, including soldiers from Cameroon, in an offensive that this year has driven Nigeria's home-grown Islamic extremists from the towns and villages where it had established "an Islamic caliphate."

Chad's President Idriss Deby has complained of a lack of cooperation from Nigeria, which has strained relations with all its neighbors.

Nigeria's military has said the offensive has cut Boko Haram's supply lines across borders and that the militants' main fighting force is hemmed into a northeastern forest.

Meanwhile, President Buhari has expressed condolences to the governor and people of Anambra State, over the petrol tanker crash, which killed 60 people at a busy bus station in Onitsha.

Shehu in a statement said the President described the incident as a sad and unfortunate loss.

He said the crash was made even more unfortunate by the number of families who are currently mourning the loss of their loved ones.

The President said: “My deepest sympathies are with you at this most trying time,”

President Buhari also extended condolences to the Vice President of United States, Joe Biden, who lost his son, Beau Biden, to cancer, on Monday.

“As someone who has lost a child, I understand how painful and almost inconsolable it can be. The government and peoples stand with you at this trying moment for your family,” he said.